This recipe has been around awhile!
Back in our early married life (55 years ago now) I use to make a few Japanese dishes and not sure why I stopped but I did. I’m going to revisit some of those recipes soon and give them another chance.
I happened upon this recipe (and online they all seem to have the same ingredients) in my latest Cooks Illustrated magazine and then googled some online recipes, tried and really liked it. The CI version used flour to dredge the pork but several online used cornstarch, which I used and Cooks Illustrated did not include a sauce recipe with their recipe and that was one of the best parts of the dish.
Tonkatsu originated back in the 19th century and the sauce recipe seems to have been around quite a while also. Typically the meat is cut into strips or bits after frying. I actually forgot to do that before I took the pictures. This is also served top of thinly sliced cabbage. Now, I did do something a little different there and drizzled with a few drops of sesame oil, salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime juice over the cabbage. It’s a very tasty dish and the sauce is just ketsup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and oyster sauce (which I always have on hand for Asian recipes).
Maybe this is the Japanese version of our Chicken Fried Steak. Who knows. I hope you will try it and if you have any favorite recipes from your early years of cooking please share them in the comment section.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: So this cookie I named after one of Elvis’ songs. It’s the Hunka, Hunka Love cookie. If you like chocolate, white chocolate and nuts, you will like this cookie.
You will need three dishes, one for cornstarch, one for beaten egg and one for panko bread crumbs.
Dredge all sides in the cornstarch and shake off excess.
Cover all sides with the egg mixture.
Coat with panko bread crumbs.
Read to be cooked outside.
Anything that needs to be deep fried in this house gets done outside by the man of the house.
Ready to go inside.
Sauce ingredients are quick to stir up.
I added some green onion, sesame oil, and a few squirts of lime to my thinly sliced cabbage.
Yum, added some green salad, (not really needed) and a cheese mashed potato and called it a day.
Tonkatsu and Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 or more boneless pork chops or cutlets
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 or more cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 1 c. or more panko style breadcrumbs
- c. finely shredded cabbage
- 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
- 3-4 green onions thinly sliced on diagonal
- juice of 1 lime
- SAUCE:
- 1/2 c. Ketchup
- 1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp. Oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
Instructions
- Dry off the pork chops (or cutlets) with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Arrange the cornstarch, beaten egg, and panko in three dishes next to each other.
- Coat the chops one at a time in the cornstarch and shake off extra cornstarch. Make sure to get the cornstarch on the sides of the chops also. Dip the pork cutlet/chops into the beaten egg and then into the panko making sure pork is evenly coated with panko. Set aside for deep frying. Repeat with remaining chops.
- Deep fry (350°) until pork is golden brown. Remove from skillet and put on wire rack to drain.
- For Sauce, mix together all ingredients and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes. Serve as dipping sauce for Tonkatsu.
- Cabbage -- slice as thin as possible. Add a few drops of sesame oil, the green onions, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.
- To serve put a large serving of cabbage on plate, top with pork then drizzle a little sauce over. Serve extra sauce on the side.
- Bon Appetit!
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